Ethics, Enforcement and Compliance

One of the purposes of regulating the profession of physiotherapy is to protect the public by having the ability to mandate steps to correct the problem of physiotherapists found to be unethical or incompetent.

Below are the presentations given on Ethics, Enforcement and Compliance at the INPTRA 2015 conference in Singapore.

In Canada, Physiotherapy is regulated by the individual provinces and territories. In the province of Ontario, the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario (the College) has a Professional Conduct (or complaints and discipline) Program that deals with issues of enforcement and compliance.

At the following link you will find the Codi Deontològic with principles of ethics, enforcement and compliance for members of the Catalan Board of Physical Therapists. This documents includes principles of practice, relationship with patients, with colleagues and other health professionals as well as professional and health associations and institutions.

New Zealand

The Physiotherapy Standards framework 2018, Section 1 consists of the Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (the Code), which sets the expectations for the professional behaviour of registered physiotherapists working in New Zealand. The Physiotherapy Board (Board) and Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) developed the Code in 2006 combining their respective Ethical Codes. This reflected the importance of a unified ethical code for the profession. The Board and PNZ have reviewed the Code (2011) to ensure it is reflective of the current ethical environment for physiotherapists practising in a variety of settings in New Zealand and aligns with the Physiotherapy practice thresholds in Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand (Physiotherapy framework Section 3). The addition of the commentary provides some interpretation of the principles. As well as setting the standard for ethical decision-making, it is expected the Code with commentary may assist with challenging ethical dilemmas, which require additional debate with peers before reaching a decision.

United Kingdom

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has developed standards of conduct, performance and ethics which registrants must read and agree to abide by in order to remain on the Register.

These standards were adopted in July 2008. We consulted in 2015 on revised standards. We expect these standards to be in place in January 2016. Until that time, however, the standards remain in force.